Page:Virgil's Pastorals, Georgics and Aeneis - Dryden (1709) - volume 1.pdf/335

This during Winter's drisly Reign be done:475
'Till the new Ram receives th' exalted Sun:
For hairy Goats of equal profit are
With woolly Sheep, and ask an equal Care.
'Tis true, the Fleece, when drunk with Tyrian Juice,
Is dearly sold; but not for needful use:480
For the sallacious Goat encreases more;
And twice as largely yields her milky Store.
The still distended Udders never fail;
But when they seem exhausted swell the Pail.
Mean time the Pastor shears their hoary Beards;485
And eases of their Hair, the loaden Herds.
Their Camelots, warm in Tents, the Souldier hold;
And shield the wretched Mariner from Cold.
On Shrubs they brouze, and on the bleaky Top
Of rugged Hills, the thorny Bramble crop.490
Attended with their Family they come$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$
At Night unask'd, and mindful of their home;
And scarce their swelling Bags the threshold overcome.
So much the more thy diligence bestow
In depth of Winter, to defend the Snow:495
By how much less the tender helpless Kind,
For their own ills, can fit Provision find.
Then minister the browze, with bounteous hand;
And open let thy Stacks all Winter stand.
But when the Western Winds with vital pow'r500
Call forth the tender Grass, and budding Flower;